Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
June is shaping up as a busy beer month, following the Firestone Walker Invitational on the first weekend of June is the opening salvo for L.A. Beer Week on weekend #2.
LABW23 starts at Shoreline Park in Long Beach, a beautiful spot to sample the independent L.A. beer scene in 2023.
Each spring, beer fans see Pink Boots collaboration beers made (sometimes) with that years special hop blend. You would have have to search them out brewery by brewery. But this year Los Angeles got lucky with the first CollaBrew Festival so youcan taste many of the beers all in one spot.
Held next door to Frogtown Brewery in front of a dance studio, Pink Boots LA brought together many local breweries and one in the works cider maker all together under a sunny, spring sky to show off their beers. There were also sessions all afternoon so that you could hear about women in our brewing industry.
And I had two really fantastic beers amongst the tasters. First was an IPA from 14 Cannons Fuck the Patriarchy that tasted just hopped, it was that fresh. Project Barley had one of the best cold IPA’s in their short history named Ice the Nectaron that was perfectly light with just a touch of hop bitterness.
I hope this festival becomes a yearly event. The San Diego chapter has expressed interest and it could become a bigger festival.
Smog City Brewing will be celebrating their 12th Anniversary (almost a teenager) this month and if past parties are any indication there will be fun beers to be had and cans and bottles to grab for later.
The Montrose Craft Beer Fest returns for the 8th time in the foothills just north of Glendale on April 30th. As of a month out, twelve breweries were on the slate and before you go, that is too little of a headcount. Riip, Everywhere, the new version of Cellador, Beachwood, El Segundo and Tarantula Hill will be there which is a good start.
Another anniversary alert, this time for Common Space Brewery. 5th anniversary time.
I will be at a different festival on April 15th but if you are looking for a lager that day, there will be a lot on offer just north of us, so read on.
“Over 40 craft breweries will be pouring some of the best Lagers in the Country. Lagerville will take place at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. in Buellton.
Guests will get to sample throughout the day and talk to the brewers that make these approachable Lagers. Your ticket includes a souvenir glass, and sampling from any of the breweries on site.
VIP Tickets are $65 and include an hour early entry. This is a limited ticket and will sellout soon! There will be special VIP beers poured that won’t be available during the General Admission Session.
General Admission tickets are $55 and include entry at 12 p.m.
Tickets at the door will be $65 for General Admission and there will not be VIP tickets available on the day of the event.”
Highland Park Brewery is heading toward their 9th anniversary soon which means two things.
I do not know what Saint Linus is the patron saint of other than the obvious pumpkin patches and security blankets but he has a beer festival line-up that is quite interesting.
If that list is to your liking, click HERE for tickets.
The Los Angeles chapter of The Pink Boots Society is going to throwdown a bunch of women brewed beers on April 15th. It is a goodly cross-section of LA breweries and should be a super fun beer event for those of us getting back into beer festivals.
Get your tickets HERE.
I try to put my spin on beer events and not just copy & paste a press release, but this is important and there is zero need for me to mansplain….
“The Pink Boots Society Los Angeles Chapter is partnering with over 20 breweries across the greater Los Angeles area for 2023 Collaboration Brew Days. Many are taking place on International Women’s Day this Wednesday, March 8 and throughout the month of March in celebration of Women’s History Month.
The international event, led by the Pink Boots Society, is a fundraising event that supports educational scholarships provided to women and non-binary individuals in the alcohol/fermented beverage industry. Each brewery hosts their own brew day on their chosen date and releases a beer to the public with a portion of proceeds donated to the Los Angeles Chapter.
This year, the Los Angeles chapter will also host CollaBrew Fest, its first official beer festival, on Saturday, April 15, 2023 to showcase many of these collaboration beers brewed by women and non-binary individuals in the industry. (I will pass on info about this when it becomes available)
There are currently more than 450 teams worldwide registered for Collaboration Brew Days. Participating breweries in the greater Los Angeles area include: 14 Cannons, Angel City Brewery, Angry Horse Brewery, Beachwood Brewing Long Beach, Burning Bridge Brewing, Common Corners Brewing, Eureka Brewing Company, Frogtown Brewery, Hermosa Brewing Co., Highland Park Brewery, Last Name Brewing, Lawless Brewing Co, Los Angeles Ale Works, Malibu Brewing Company, Native Son LA, Pedals & Pints Brewing Company, Tarantula Hill Brewing Co., Topa Topa Brewing Co., Trademark Brewing Co., and Upshift Brewing.
Most of the breweries will be utilizing a special blend of Loral®, Ekuanot®, and HBC 586 hops purchased from Yakima Chief Hops (sale proceeds are also donated to Pink Boots Society). Admiral Maltings out of Alameda, California also provided malt donations for a select number of brew days across the California region.”
So come April, either hit up their festival or find as many as you can individually.